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HIST(2): Student Edition, Volume 1 CHAPTER 6 The Revolution Learning Outcomes After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following: 1 LO Describe the long-term causes and more immediate events that led the colonists into a true revolution against Britain. 2 LO Discuss the various phases of the American Revolution, and analyze the circumstances that eventually helped the colonists win a conflict that Britain, by rights, should never have lost. 3 LO Assess the significance of the American Revolution to the following groups: colonists, slaves, native populations, and women. 9781133440406, HIST2, Volume 1, Kevin M. Schultz - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization Ostensibly, the battle was “ between freedom and tyranny (if you were a patriot), or about the responsibilities of being an Englishman (if you were a Loyalist). After the “long train of abuses”” leading up to the Declaration of Independence, from 1776 to What do you think? 1783 American patriots fought a long and difficult war with By the end of 1775, the colonists had no choice but to Britain. Ostensibly, the battle seek full independence from England. was between freedom and Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree tyranny (if you were a patriot), 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 or about the responsibilities of being an Englishman (if you were a Loyalist). In reality, choosing sides was much more personal, depending, for instance, on whether your landlord was a Loyalist or a patriot, whether you thought political freedom would improve your business, or whether you felt the earnings you made from a slave-based economy were threatened. All colonists, of course, were forced to choose sides, although many remained ambivalent about each position. Loyalists were scorned, but revolutionaries would be punished brutally if their side lost the war. Choosing sides was no small matter, and the consequences could be deadly. But the war and the political independence that followed made up only one of sev- eral revolutions that took place during these years. The revolutionary war brought with it fundamental questions about freedom and liberty, and about what kind of society Americans wanted. How far would the American Revolution go in promoting equality? Would economic and educational differences be eradicated by a leveling state? Would slavery be abolished? How different would the new society look compared with the old? 1 LO From Rebellion to Revolution As in most revolutions, the American Revolution had long-term, underlying causes that finally came to a head because of short-term, precipitating events. Underlying Causes Between 1660 and 1763, the colonies had formed a unique society distinct from that of England. Perhaps most importantly, they had developed a dynamic economy in manu- facturing and developing goods, as well as supplying raw materials to trading partners in both the Old and New Worlds. In other words, the colonies were not just a primary economic supplier (supplying raw materials to a mother country), but a well-rounded economic system unto themselves. Of course, many wealthy southerners owed their for- tunes to slave-based cash crops that were then traded with England, so these colonists shied away from confrontation with the Crown. Nevertheless, large sectors of the North American economy were becoming increasingly independent of England. iStockphoto.com/Sean Locke . From Rebellion to Revolution 99 9781133440406, HIST2, Volume 1, Kevin M. Schultz - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization Hessians Lord Dunmore’s actions German soldiers hired by are significant, however, Britain to fight against the rebelling American colonies for another reason. After retreating to an offshore ship as he awaited British Along similar lines, military support, Dunmore property ownership was issued a proclamation more common in the colo- iStockphoto.com/Ray Roper offering freedom to any . nies than in England. This slave who agreed to fight meant that, with the notable for the British. His pro- exception of slaves, the peo- gram, “Liberty to Slaves,” ple working the land owned it, angered the colonists, who would which gave them something later cite Dunmore’s actions in the Declaration of to fight for should their posi- Independence. To many colonists, liberty was meant tion be threatened. The colonies also had developed only for Europeans and Euro-Americans, and it stung without the titled aristocracy or widespread poverty that the governor was offering it to slaves. Within found in England, two further factors in making the weeks of Dunmore’s call, between five hundred and colonies an entity unique from England. And, in fact, six hundred slaves responded, and before the war each colony had developed a self-elected govern- was over, several thousand more fought for Britain ment, something they were not willing to give up and for their freedom. This Learn more easily. is in contrast to the colonial about Lord Dun- army, whose commander more and read Precipitating Events George Washington refused his proclamation. to use black soldiers during These long-term causes could not have detonated the first years of the war. Indeed, only during the into a war without several precipitating sparks. final months of the war were colonists forced to Three were substantial: (1) increased local conflicts; press slaves into service, delaying doing so mostly (2) the uncompromising attitude of Britain; and because they feared arming them as enemies. (3) a shift in opinion among the colonists—toward revolution. Uncompromising Britain The Widening War As the war widened, King George III grew increas- ingly angry at the colonies for their continued insub- At the local level, the war’s scope was widen- ordination. He rejected the “Olive Branch Petition” of ing even before any official declaration of war. the Second Continental Congress and in August 1775 In 1775, for instance, Ethan Allen and his “Green denounced the colonists as rebels. He also hired Mountain Boys” attacked and captured Britain’s mercenaries from Germany, called “Hessians,” to Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point in backwoods fight the colonists. And in December 1775 he closed New York. The Continental Army invaded Canada all American ports. This last action was particularly and captured Montreal but failed to capture significant because it made independence abso- Quebec. In Charleston, patriots beat back lutely necessary to open trade with other an attack by a British fleet. In Boston, countries. The king’s uncompromising patriots surrounded and laid “siege” attitude presented the colonists with on the city after the British had few options other than revolution. taken control after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Virginians mean- while forced the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, to retreat from the mainland to a British war- ship in the harbor at Norfolk. These local conflicts, organized without the assistance of any unified colonial body, indicated a >> The king’s uncompromising attitude widening war between England and presented the colonists with few options iStockphoto.com/Simon Smith the colonies. other than revolution. 100 CHAPTER 6 The Revolution 9781133440406, HIST2, Volume 1, Kevin M. Schultz - © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. No distribution allowed without express authorization The Shift in American Opinion The Revolutionaries republicanism The theory that government Finally, popular opinion had gradually shifted toward Why revolt? Each rebel- should be based on the con- sent of the governed and independence. The decline of salutary neglect and ling colonist had a differ- that the governed had a duty the spread of local violence led many colonists ent motive for supporting to ensure that their govern- to side with the revolutionaries. These economic a break with England, and ment did not infringe on indi- vidual rights and social events pushed the war of ideas about these reasons were just as freedom and sovereignty into the lives of everyday complicated as those for Americans, and the more the Crown proved uncom- remaining loyal. promising, the more American opinion shifted Personal and commercial considerations were toward revolution. vitally important. But perhaps most influential was the ideology of republicanism, the idea that gov- Choosing Sides ernment should be based on the consent of the governed and that the people had a duty to ensure There was, however, never unanimity, and thus, in that their government did not infringe on individual addition to this being a revolutionary war, it was also rights. The American Revolution was the first seri- very much a civil war. ous modern attempt to craft a government based on The Loyalists these principles. Republicanism set down deep roots in England Why remain loyal? In the end, some- before it flowered on American soil. The where between one-fifth and one- British Radical Whigs of the 1600s, third of the colonists remained loyal for example, harked back to to Britain throughout the war (see “The the classical Roman ideal reasons why. .” box). Most prominent of a “republican soci- in this group were wealthy landholders ety,” in which gov- and slave owners, who had the most ernmental power to lose in a revolution. Furthermore, a was curtailed by large percentage of colonists remained the actions of the indifferent to both the British and the people, who were revolutionaries. presumed to be vir- Although all the colonies had some tuous and willing pro-Crown families, geographically to sacrifice for the most Loyalists lived in the southern public good. Drawing Powered by Light/Alan Spencer/Alamy Powered colonies and New York. on these Roman ideals, . {The reasons why . .} Colonists were reluctant to withdraw from the British Empire for at least six reasons: Personal connections in Britain. Many still felt a strong Fears of what American independence might mean. attachment to Britain and the king, and many still had family and Some of the smaller religious groups felt that Britain had protected friends there.
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